Angelo, Gordon & Co‘s private equity group has sold Oak Street Holdings to First Financial Bank for $110 million in cash. Raymond James & Associates Inc provided financial advice to Oak Street on the transaction. Based in Indianapolis, Oak Street is a commercial finance platform focused on insurance industry financing.
PRESS RELEASE
NEW YORK – August 21, 2015 – The Private Equity Group of Angelo, Gordon & Co. announced today that it has closed the sale of Oak Street Holdings, the leading commercial finance platform focused on insurance industry financing, to First Financial Bank, N.A., a subsidiary of First Financial Bancorp (Nasdaq: FFBC), for $110 million in cash. The transaction yielded an IRR in excess of 25% and a multiple on invested capital north of three times for Angelo Gordon and other investors in Oak Street.
Oak Street, a nationwide lender based in Indianapolis, Indiana, was formed in 2003 to provide commission-based loans to help insurance agents and brokers maximize their book-of-business value and grow their agency business. Oak Street had total assets of $242 million and total loans of $238 million as of June 30, 2015.
“Oak Street has been a tremendous investment for us and our limited partners and highlights our firm’s expertise in the financial services sector,” said Art Peponis, Head of Private Equity at Angelo Gordon. “The successful completion of the sale underscores our ability to partner with talented operators like Rick Dennen, who founded the company in 2003, to drive significant growth during our investment period.”
“Since our investment in late 2010, Oak Street has grown both its loan volume and profitability more than five-fold while maintaining high underwriting standards and credit quality,” added Harish Nataraj, a Managing Director of Angelo Gordon. “We believe First Financial is an ideal partner to help the company get to the next level.”
“We are grateful for the expertise and support that Angelo Gordon has shown us over the past five years,” said Rick Dennen, CEO of Oak Street Holdings. “We’re excited about our future with First Financial and feel we’ve been well prepared by our time with Angelo Gordon.”
Raymond James & Associates, Inc. acted as the financial advisor and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP acted as legal advisor to Oak Street Holdings.
About Angelo, Gordon & Co.
Angelo, Gordon & Co., L.P. is a privately held limited partnership founded in November 1988, and currently manages approximately $27 billion. The Firm manages capital across three principal asset classes: (i) credit, (ii) real estate, and (iii) private equity. The private equity group focuses on investments of $25 million to $125 million in growth-oriented companies in the financial services and consumer/retail sectors. The Firm is an SEC-registered investment adviser.
About Oak Street Holdings Corporation
Indianapolis, Indiana-based Oak Street Holdings Corporation is a family of diversified financial services companies that offers commission-based commercial financing exclusively for insurance professionals and third-party loan servicing for financial institutions. Oak Street utilizes industry knowledge, proprietary technology and partner relationships to deliver top-quality service and financial products to insurance and finance professionals nationwide. Additional information about Oak Street is available at www.oakstreetfunding.com.
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